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Glendale Armenian Community Protests Rebel Takeover Of Syrian City

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  • Glendale Armenian Community Protests Rebel Takeover Of Syrian City

    GLENDALE ARMENIAN COMMUNITY PROTESTS REBEL TAKEOVER OF SYRIAN CITY

    Los Angeles Times
    April 4 2014

    By Brittany Levine

    April 4, 2014, 11:30 a.m.

    The Armenian community in Glendale is reacting with anger to the
    takeover by rebels of the Syrian town of Kasab near the Turkish border
    that is home to about 2,500 Armenian Christians.

    Many Armenians consider the region to be historically part of their
    homeland. The Syrian rebel forces who overran the town came in
    through the Turkish border in March, prompting inhabitants to flee
    the violence.

    The takeover also was a painful reminder of the Armenian genocide,
    demonstrators said in Glendale, which is preparing to commemorate
    the 99th anniversary of the genocide later this month.

    PHOTOS: Armenian community gathers to protest attacks in Kasab

    "This is where I spent my childhood and it hits home. My grandfather's
    house is being looted. My aunt's house is being looted," said Lena
    Bozoyan, executive board chairman of the Glendale-based Armenian
    Relief Society Western USA. "We as a Christian nation, we as the
    believers of the free, we, a democratic people and country, are not
    saying a word. This is outrageous."

    Plenty is being said, however, on social media, where debate and
    protest over the incursion has raged.

    A Glendale youth organization joined the fray, creating a campaign
    featuring the hashtag #SaveKessab, which got the attention of thousands
    of Twitter and Facebook users, including celebrities Kim Kardashian
    and Cher, as well as Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank), the Glendale
    News-Press reported.

    Protestors have demonstrated in front of the Turkish Embassy in Los
    Angeles, as well as the Armenian Consulate in Glendale.

    Local Armenians have long been engaged with the situation in Syria,
    where family and friends have been enduring a prolonged period of civil
    war. The Syrian Armenian Relief Fund, launched in 2012 in partnership
    with the Armenian Relief Society and other Armenian philanthropic
    groups, has sent tens of thousands of dollars abroad in assistance.

    Last week, the fund sent roughly $100,000 to Kasab refugees.

    But as news spreads about the city's fate through social media,
    critics fear the #SaveKessab movement is contributing to the spread of
    misinformation -- especially false YouTube videos of mass killings --
    diluting long-running efforts to get the Armenian genocide recognized
    worldwide.

    Information from the U.S. State Department about what's happening in
    Kasab is sparse, but last week a spokeswoman said department officials
    were "deeply troubled" by recent fighting and violence against the
    Syrian Armenian communities.

    That lack of information has created a void that critics say has
    been filled with misinformation, some of which has been spread by
    concerned Armenian groups.

    Caspar Jivalagian, chairman of the Armenian Youth Federation Western
    Region USA in Glendale, which created the hashtag, said despite
    criticism of the #SaveKessab campaign his organization's goal was to
    spread awareness of the innocent suffering during the war.

    "Maybe there is misinformation being spread, but it's not being done
    by our organization," he said. "There is distress in the region and
    the youth are not turning a blind eye."

    Glendale resident Garo Ghazarian, who is chairman of the Armenian
    Bar Assn., said he is traveling to the region soon. His relatives
    were among the dozens of Kasab residents who stayed behind during
    the takeover.

    But when his uncle recently called their home Kasab unfamiliar voices
    answered the phone, saying in Arabic: "This is our house now."

    Since word of Ghazarian's planned journey has spread through the local
    Armenian community, he has been receiving dozens of emails from people
    asking him to find their relatives, too.

    "The purpose of me going there is to see that individuals are safe,"
    Ghazarian said. "I am unable to work. I'm better off going there. Even
    if I can do one thing, it would be one better thing than sitting here."

    http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-glendale-armenian-community-protests-kasab-takeover-20140404,0,3688916.story#axzz2xws5Ccgk

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